Date: June 1903
Pages: 163-168

LENINSKIY SBORNIK

[International Congress]

The Congress entrusts the representation of the Russian S.D.R.P. in the International Socialist secretariat to comrade Plekhanov (in place of the Paris resolution on joint representation by Plekhanov and Krichevsky).

The Congress entrusts the representation of the Russian S.D.R.P. at the International Socialist Congress in Amsterdam to the editorial board of the Central Organ of the party and to the Central Committee, by agreement between them (or by decision of the Party Soviet) to organize the representation of the Russian S.D.R.P. at the International Socialist Congress in Amsterdam in 1904.

Demonstrations.

The Congress considers public demonstrations against autocracy to be an extremely important means of political education of the working masses. The Congress recommends, in this regard, firstly, to endeavor in particular*) to utilize for demonstrations such moments and such conditions when some outrage of tsarism has aroused a feeling of indignation in especially wide strata of the population; secondly, to direct the greatest efforts toward attracting wide masses of the working class to participate in demonstrations and toward the best possible organization of demonstrations both in their preparation and in their conduct and in directing the resistance of demonstrators to troops and police; thirdly, to begin preparations for armed demonstrations, strictly conforming in this regard to the directives of the Central Committee.

The Congress also recommends to all committees and other organizations of the party to subject the question of preparation for armed uprising to comprehensive discussion and to endeavor with all forces to spread among the working masses the conviction of the necessity and inevitability of uprising. The practical measures which can already now be taken toward preparation for uprising are entrusted by the Congress exclusively and entirely to the Central Committee.

*) The words: "in particular" in the manuscript represent a later insertion into the basic text, written above the line. Editor.

Terror.

The Congress decisively rejects terror, i.e., the system of individual political assassinations, as a method of political struggle—in the highest degree inexpedient at the present time, diverting the best forces from the urgent and persistently necessary organizational and agitational work, destroying the connection of revolutionaries with the masses of revolutionary classes of the population, implanting among the revolutionaries themselves and among the revolutionary classes of the population generally the most perverse conceptions of the tasks and methods*) of struggle against autocracy.

Propaganda.

The Congress draws the attention of all party members to the importance of raising the theoretical level of propagandists and of creating itinerant all-Russian groups of lecturers for the unification of propaganda work.

Students.

The Congress welcomes the revival of revolutionary self-activity among student youth, proposes that all party organizations render every possible assistance to this youth in its strivings to organize itself, and recommends to all organizations, groups and circles of students: firstly, to place in the forefront of their activity the development among their members of a complete and consistent revolutionary worldview, serious**) acquaintance with Marxism, on the one hand, and on the other hand, with Russian Populism and Western European opportunism, as the main currents among contemporary contending progressive directions; secondly, to be on guard against those false friends of youth who divert it from serious revolutionary education with empty revolutionary phrases or idealistic phraseology and philistine lamentations about the harm and needlessness of sharp and acute polemic between revolutionary and oppositional directions, for these false friends in fact spread only unprincipled and lightheaded attitudes toward revolutionary work; thirdly, to endeavor, in the transition to practical activity, to establish connections in advance with revolutionary Social Democratic organizations, so as to utilize their guidance and to avoid, insofar as possible, major mistakes at the very beginning of the work.

Distribution of Forces.

The Congress recommends to all comrades departing from abroad to Russia or from exile to a place of activity, especially if they do not yet have fully firm connections with any committee, to endeavor to contact in good time the Central Committee or its agents, so that the Central Committee may correctly and timely distribute revolutionary forces throughout Russia.

Sectarians.

*) At the Congress, Vladimir Ilyich did not submit this resolution and voted for the corresponding resolution by Martov, adopted unanimously ("Protocols," p. 336).

2) In the record of the 2nd session of the Congress it is noted: "Lenin points out the existence in the Congress program of such questions as, for example, celebration of the first of May, terror, etc., resolutions on which can be adopted without discussion thereof in view of the clarity of these questions" ("Protocols," p. 242). But in the Congress "Protocols" there is no trace whatsoever of voting on and adoption (even without discussion) of resolutions on the indicated questions. In his report on the second Congress of the party at the 2nd Congress of the "Foreign League," Lenin says: "...we had to throw out of the Tagesordnung a mass of important points..." ("Protocols of the 2nd Congress of the Foreign League," Geneva, ed. 1904, p. 50). This pertains to agenda items concerning the celebration of May 1st and terror, as well as to the question of "distribution of forces," which did not enter into the agenda adopted by the Congress.

8) Lenin's draft resolution on the Amsterdam International Socialist Congress bears a concrete, practical character, treating exclusively of the ways of organizing the representation of the R.S.D.R.P. at the Congress and in the International Socialist Bureau, in distinction from the resolution by Koltsov (K. A. Ginzburg) on the same question, which has a general principled character. Vladimir Ilyich voted for the resolution of Koltsov, adopted unanimously ("Protocols," p. 338).

4) This refers to the resolution of the Russian S.D. delegation at the Paris Congress of the II International in September 1900, when it was decided that in the International Socialist Bureau the party would be represented together with G. V. Plekhanov also by K. N. Krichevsky, leader of the "Economists" and editor of "Rabochee Delo" (see on this the letter of G. V. Plekhanov to V. I. Lenin of November 12, 1900 and note 16 to it in "Leninskiy Sbornik" III, pp. 99 and 101-102).

K. N. Krichevsky (d. 1919)—one of the first Russian S.D.s, publicist, editor of "Rabochee Delo," leader of "Economism"; after work in S.D. circles in Russia in the early 90s emigrated abroad, where he initially adhered to the "Emancipation of Labor" Group and participated in literary contributions to its publications; but soon K. came into opposition to the Group and organized his own literary S.D. group; in the late 90s K. came to the head of the rather widely spreading current of "Economism," and also headed the "Union of Russian S.D.s Abroad," which in its majority took the standpoint of "Economism," and its organ "Rabochee Delo," which K. edited from 1898-1902; at the Paris Congress of the II International in 1900 K. headed the majority of the Russian delegation; simultaneously K. collaborated in "L'Humanité" and served as Paris correspondent of "Vorwärts"; in Russian and international affairs K. leaned toward Bernsteinism and Jaurésism; "Iskra" and "Zarya," in the persons of Lenin and Plekhanov, waged sharp struggle against K. and undermined all his influence in the party; after the II Congress of the party K. played no role in the party.

5) Vladimir Ilyich did not submit this resolution at the Congress and, apparently, voted for the resolution by Martov, adopted by the Congress. In any case, in the Congress protocols there are no traces of any objections by Lenin against Martov's resolution (see "Protocols" of the Congress, pp. 334-335).

6) This draft resolution on propaganda represents merely an initial brief sketch of a resolution, left without final elaboration. Vladimir Ilyich subsequently voted for Martov's resolution on this question, adopted unanimously ("Protocols," pp. 336-337).

7) Lenin submitted this resolution at the Congress. It was discussed along with other resolutions at the 37th session of the Congress after Martov's resolution on the organization of propaganda and before Koltsov's (Ginzburg's) resolution on the Amsterdam Congress. Against Lenin's draft resolution (against point 2) Martov objected, pointing out the inappropriateness of mentioning the dangers from the S.R.s and liberals in this connection and the inappropriateness of applying to them the term "false friends." Lenin, in defense of his draft, said the following in response to Martov's objection: "The formula 'false friends' is used not only by reactionaries, and that such false friends exist—we see this in liberals and Socialist-Revolutionaries. These very false friends approach youth with assurances that it does not need to figure out the different currents. We, on the other hand, set as our main goal the development of a complete revolutionary worldview, and the further practical task consists in the fact that youth, organizing itself, turns to our committees." Makhov (Kalagatsky) and Trotsky proposed to strike from Lenin's resolution the second point (with the warning against "false friends of youth"). The Congress adopted this resolution with the indicated amendment by Makhov and Trotsky ("Protocols," pp. 337-338); below (pp. 179-180) we present the text of this resolution which appeared at the Congress and was preserved in the manuscript of the Congress protocols.

8) In this "Compilation of Draft Resolutions," only the heading of the resolution on Sectarians is marked, the text of the resolution itself is absent and only space for it is left; apparently, Vladimir Ilyich intended to sketch the content of the resolution later. At the Congress there was submitted, discussed, and adopted a resolution by Lenin and Plekhanov on the concrete question of the sectarian organ, which we present below (pp. 173-174).

The draft resolution by Lenin on party literature printed below, as was already indicated above (see the general introductory note to this group of documents "Draft Resolutions for the II Congress of the R.S.D.R.P.," pp. 161-165), directly adjoins the "Compilation of Draft Resolutions." The simultaneity or close chronological sequence of the writing of this separate draft with the "Compilation of Draft Resolutions" is confirmed by the fact that on the same sheet on which this draft was written (in ink), in the free space on the same (front) side of the sheet and on the reverse were sketched in pencil by Vladimir Ilyich's hand notes to the report on the activities of the "Iskra" organization (above, pp. 68-69). From the circumstance that the record of the draft resolution in the place where it meets the beginning of the record of notes on the activities of "Iskra" carefully avoids this latter record, it follows that the draft resolution on party literature was written simultaneously or slightly later than these notes and, in any case, hardly later than the first half of July n.s.

V. I. Lenin

DRAFT RESOLUTION ON PARTY LITERATURE

[June-July 1903. Geneva]

Literature:

The Congress recognizes the absolute and urgent necessity of creating a broad popular S.D. literature for all strata of the population and especially for the masses of the working class.

The Congress places in the first place [the creation and] composition of a series of brochures (in 1-5 printed pages) on each theoretical and practical*) point of our party program with detailed exposition and explanation of the significance of this point; and then a series of leaflets (1-8 printed pages) on the same themes for mass distribution and dissemination in cities and villages. The Congress entrusts the editorial board of the Central Organ to take immediately all measures toward the fulfillment of this task.

*) The words: "(theoretical and practical)" in the manuscript are written in later as an addition. Editor.